Once again, the Cowboys find themselves with over 20 players who have expiring contracts. But still, there's a large percentage of players on the roster already in place. Over the next few weeks, the staff writers will evaluate those players under contract, reviewing their past performances with an outlook to the future. Today, we'll continue the series with linebacker Micah Parsons.
What Worked: Parsons faced a tall task in following up his 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year season coming into 2022, though followed through just fine. He set his career high in sacks with 13.5 (13.0 in 2021) including six games of two sacks apiece, while tallying 65 total tackles and 13 TFLs. Add in his three forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and pass deflections along with his 26 quarterback hits, that placed Parsons in second for NFL Defensive Player of the Year behind the 49ers' Nick Bosa and an eighth-place finish for the NFL MVP, along with his second Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors.
Needs Some Work: Not a lot of options to choose from here. But though he recorded 84 total tackles during his rookie season, Parsons saw that number fall to the aforementioned 65. He lined up as a defensive end in 81% of his snaps compared to just 19% of the time as a linebacker, which could have potentially played a factor. As a result, he was targeted much less in passing situations but allowed nearly 82% of those targets to turn into completions for an average of 9.1 yards a catch.
His Best Work: It would be easy to point to one of Parsons' many multi-sack games last season as some of his best work, but perhaps his most memorable moment of the year came in a game in which he did not record a sack. In Week 8 against the Bears, Leighton Vander Esch forced running back David Montgomery to fumble the ball, allowing Parsons to scoop it up near the Chicago sideline and dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge his way into the endzone for the first time in his career with a 36-yard score.
Contract Consideration: It is only logical that the Cowboys will begin contract extension talks at some point in the near future, but until that time we'll focus on what Parsons is currently on the books for. Parsons is guaranteed to make almost $2.3 million in 2023 as his base salary with a cap charge of $4.6 million thanks to a prorated bonus of over $2.4 million.
What's Next: History would tell us that after two seasons with Micah Parsons as a member of the Cowboys that he's destined to at least maintain the torrid pace he's been on to begin his career, let alone get even better. He has instantly become one of the most feared defensive players in the sport and the face of the Cowboys' defense - and the franchise in general. Don't expect that to change moving forward.
